tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post6590894445723024945..comments2024-03-28T15:23:18.071-07:00Comments on Pure Mormonism: Where I Went Wrong On My MissionAlan Rock Watermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04971243364867111868noreply@blogger.comBlogger204125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-59538370432788939282017-05-17T00:43:21.366-07:002017-05-17T00:43:21.366-07:00Put down your weapons of war...your pen and your s...Put down your weapons of war...your pen and your statistics and start again at Moroni 10:4...if you really want to be a non-conformist, leave the BIG pride house and follow prophets old and new...Happy Families and REAL Women by I'm a Mormonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10777801304685009006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-92092849418407174142016-10-24T23:28:47.439-07:002016-10-24T23:28:47.439-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02322896103722682163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-3589778479552430892016-07-11T19:22:01.802-07:002016-07-11T19:22:01.802-07:00I didn't know what it was called until now, bu...I didn't know what it was called until now, but I agree with the "Christian inclusivists." We all have a direct line to reach God; our minds and hearts are directly connected to him and he will whisper to each of us. Therefore people of any religion (or no religion) can hear his voice any time they choose, follow it, and become one of his sheep. We are all free in this life to do just as much good as we choose or care to do (listening to the light of Christ and aligning our thoughts, words, & deeds to every drop of GOOD that originates from him). For many, the motivation isn't to selfishly earn a reward for themself in this life or the next. They are kind and have compassion and caring for everyone around them, and put others before themselves and ahead of themselves, simply because they love their fellow beings. The way we treat each person around us in our daily lives, we are in reality doing unto Him. One God is the Father of us all, and I believe that he is always working in many mysterious ways that we know not of, among all peoples and nations and tongues on earth. The Japanese have a saying, "There are many paths to the top of Mount Fuji", meaning many different paths to God. As missionaries in Japan, we were taught things to say to counter this idea, but I now believe they were right! As C.S. Lewis said, there are indeed many "anonymous Christians" who don't even know they are following Jesus. They might not have even heard of him or his gospel. Yet they are hearing his voice and following where it leads them, day by day. I've been "inactive" in the institutional Church for about 17 years, might go back but it sometimes seems more of a hindrance than a help in one's journey to truth and back to God.Seekerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12685088836076155573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-89354363796799419192016-07-11T17:50:59.565-07:002016-07-11T17:50:59.565-07:00....(continued)....
So we have nothing whatsoever .......(continued)....<br />So we have nothing whatsoever to boast of. Jesus was the only one without sin, without flaw or blemish. Whenever we keep any commandment or do or say anything good, it is actually God doing good (in and) through us, because the scriptures say that every good thing (everything good, every thing good) whatsoever comes from God and is God's quickening intelligence (light/truth/Spirit) at work, including every single good thing each of us ever thinks, or says, or does. It flows into our minds and hearts as living water, or as light enlightening us from within. Who are we to take credit for anything good we do or say, any kindness we show to another, any commandment we keep, because all the credit and honor and glory are rightfully attributed to God/Jesus. I believe that consciousness (intelligence=spirit matter=light=love=God's mind=God's power) fills the immensity of space and existed before physical matter, before any stars, planets, rocks, plant life, animal life, etc. It brought all things into existence, permeates them all to a greater or lesser degree, upholds all things and keeps the planets and stars in their orbits, and imparts life as it penetrates and quickens all things and all people as much as they will ask, seek, accept and allow into their minds and hearts. God is our life, light and our Righteousness. I too wish I would have better taught people to seek God/Jesus for themselves, to ask for his Spirit to fill their minds and hearts and transform them, when I was a sister missionary in Japan in 1980-81.Seekerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12685088836076155573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-10866955204812457172016-07-11T17:39:30.337-07:002016-07-11T17:39:30.337-07:00Rock, thank you for the truths and insights contai...Rock, thank you for the truths and insights contained in this blog, and to everyone who commented, thanks for sharing your heartfelt truths and insights as well. Through an NDE-like experience, I have come to realize that Jesus/God is everything (omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent). We are comparatively nothing, yet we are each a spark of the Divine, existing within the Divine (IN HIM we live & move & have our being), we each have the capacity to be enlarged and quickened by Him until we reach the fulness, to be of one mind and one heart with God, Jesus, and all of the heavenly host. We can be transformed into his image, and become our "true self". This can happen only if we humble ourselves or are forced to be humble, "hit bottom", and cry unto the Lord, call upon him until he gives us a new heart and begins to transform us into a new creature. Day by day, we must put off the natural man (ego-self, pride, self-love, self-righteousness, willfulness, negative/selfish thoughts, actions, feelings, etc.), listen to his voice moment by moment and put on the garments and armor and virtues that He will endow us with. As mortals, we are less than the dust of the earth. In this life we each invent a false self (ego-self, a "self-image"), to cover our nakedness and nothingness, trying to build ourself up so that we can say we are a good person, that we're right or righteous. We often feel we deserve credit or rewards for the "good" things we've done, not realizing what it says in Isaiah 64:6. We are all beggars before God, we are all in the same boat, the religious, respected businessman in a suit is no better (and no more valuable to God) than the homeless beggar that he walks past & ignores every day. Luke 18:9-14. Our false ego-self becomes a false idol (image) that we worship and serve and build up. The choice comes down to this: do we serve God/others/neighbors (our true Self, encompassing all), or do we put our self (false ego self-image) first, and seek to serve it and build it up (at the expense of others; putting others and their ideas down)? Jesus said there is none good but one, that is God. Of ourselves, no matter how hard we try to keep all the commandments, we mess up and fall short. Even if we fail in one small point just once in our life, we are just as guilty as the person who breaks all of the commandments. So I don't comprehend the idea that we can please God or earn our salvation by keeping all the commandments. I think all those rules and laws and commandments were only given to us so that, if we are honest with ourselves, we will be brought to humility and to realize our absolute need for a Savior, and we will cry out to him. He will cover us with his righteousness. We don't have any righteousness of ourselves. http://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/James%202%3A10 (James 2:10). Seekerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12685088836076155573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-16918597896983170472016-04-17T09:19:30.696-07:002016-04-17T09:19:30.696-07:00Dear Log,
I don't know of any way of getting ...Dear Log,<br /><br />I don't know of any way of getting in touch with you other than the comment section of this blog. So forgive me for using Rock's forum to say that I am thoroughly enjoying your essays at Log's Cabin. They are thought provoking. Thanks for posting them.Linda Galehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04935171755082721769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-48506478327114948862016-04-15T04:53:43.551-07:002016-04-15T04:53:43.551-07:00Well-played, Rico. I'm afraid, though, that y...Well-played, Rico. I'm afraid, though, that your logic just bounced off the wall of pre-conceived notions. I mean to say, what about the Moroni Promise, which, if read literally, says to pray to Heavenly Father to see if the Mormons are NOT right in what they claim. Hence, any receipt of a good feeling is actually the Spirit telling the recipient that they shouldn't proceed further, although the salesmen always say it means something different.Steven Lesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01285355643172321289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-7153094611715193692016-04-14T01:38:30.142-07:002016-04-14T01:38:30.142-07:00==== continued ====
In the process of restoring t...==== continued ====<br /><br />In the process of restoring the only true church, the Book of Mormon was unearthed and revealed to men. That book explains why there were so many conflicting churches in Joseph's day. The underlying reason was that the Bible got corrupted when many of its "plain and precious parts" were removed by the "great and abominable church" (1 Nephi 13:23-29). The removal of these "plain and precious parts" caused many to be misled, to stumble, and eventually to fall into many errors. <br /><br />The bringing about of the Book of Mormon should therefore resolve the issue of conflicting churches. As Joseph Smith would attest, it was the "most correct book on earth" meaning a man could "get closer to God" through it "than by any other book." In other words, the Book of Mormon will succeed where the Bible had failed.<br /><br />However, in the aftermath of Joseph's unexpected death in 1844, his church divided into conflicting sects. None of these groups rejected the Book of Mormon as well as the other revelations that came after. Polygamy of course became an acute point of contentious dispute among them. And the Book of Mormon plus other revelations should have resolved that conflict, but we all know it hasn't. Thus, the Mormon movement now suffers the "Protestant Dilemma". <br /><br />The Protestants, when they revolted against the Catholic Church, rejected both the Magisterium and Tradition of the Church. These two, in addition to the Scriptures, form the three pillars of the teaching authority of the Church. From Catholic doctrine, one cannot stand without the other two pillars. That is why the Protestants invented "sola scriptura," a doctrine never believed by the first Christians. This doctrine teaches that the "Bible alone" is sufficient to establish doctrine and the rule of faith.<br /><br />"Sola scriptura" is the culprit behind the never-ending division and multiplication of Protestant sects that contradict each other. Any single Bible verse will always mean different things to different readers. This phenomenon is observable even in our legal courts. Two lawyers reading the same text of law will always end up with different interpretations of it. That is why a judge must settle the question with finality. Without a judge, anyone will interpret the the law to his advantage.<br /><br />Since we now have several conflicting Mormon sects, who will judge the matter, and declare which is the true one? The Strangites will definitely reject your interpretation of DC 10:67. Who then will decide between you and them? It cannot be you, and it cannot be them either. Will any of you accept the decision of the Brighamites? Neither, because you both condemn them.<br /><br />This is why the visible church restored by Joseph Smith has gone invisible. And it is not because Log is right about his cherry picked verses in the Book of Mormon.Ricohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04496351045031931881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-69648014255336512052016-04-14T01:25:24.037-07:002016-04-14T01:25:24.037-07:00Rock,
Since you accept that Joseph Smith's ch...Rock,<br /><br />Since you accept that Joseph Smith's church is also a visible society, then the question remains: where is that visible church now?<br /><br />Log seems to understand the implications of having a visible church, and that's why he argues against it by cherry-picking verses from the Book of Mormon. He wants to dodge the inevitable question on where the church went after Joseph died in 1844. By making it invisible, he doesn't have to explain where it went. This invented doctrine of course is not new. <br /><br />The Protestants have long ago argued the same thing for the Church in the first century. They allege that a so-called "great apostasy" drove many true Christians underground. These Christians, they claim, consist the "invisible Church". They are the ones who remained true to the original teachings of Jesus, while the "great and abominable church" is the one that remained visible. But there are serious problems with this fantastic theory.<br /><br />It goes against many Biblical teachings about the Church. For example, Jesus taught that "a city set on a hill cannot be hid" and "no man lights a candle and puts in under a bushel" (Matthew 5:14-15). Also, "the seven golden candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches" (Revelations 1:20). Did he then contradict his own teaching by letting the Church become invisible? No way. He commanded his Church: "Let your light shine upon men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven". The commandment is explicit: the Church has to be seen by men. Now, if it were invisible, how could anyone see it, let alone want to belong to it? How would they discern that it came from Jesus and the Father, and not any mere human invention? It has to be continuously visible, not invisible. <br /><br />Now there are many Bible verses that can be cited, but I just chose a couple because proving the "great apostasy" doctrine false is not the issue here. But those verses should be enough to show that when one denies an aspect of Christ's teachings, one will end up denying more of them. And it will continue progressively until everything is ultimately denied, including Jesus himself. Therefore to teach something false, one would need to eventually invent subsequent falsehoods to support the initial lie. Whereas when one teaches the truth, there is no need to invent anything. Every fact out there just naturally falls into place.<br /><br />But back to the question: Where is the restored Church now? If the Church is to be defined ONLY on the basis of DC 10:67, then we run into a big problem similar to the "Protestant Dilemma". I will talk about that later but first, we need to remember what the Restoration through Joseph Smith was all about. Why did it come about?<br /><br />It was an answer to the problem Joseph Smith encountered that led to his First Vision. The question was "which church should I join?" And the answer was "none of them" because God will bring a marvelous work through Joseph. His question arose because there were many conflicting sects that taught contradictory doctrines. That was the problem. Therefore, God will restore the true Church to address that problem. And God only restored one church, not many.Ricohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04496351045031931881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-50655767822871753242016-04-13T11:30:57.127-07:002016-04-13T11:30:57.127-07:00Concerning the species of pride, I submit the 5 pe...Concerning the species of pride, I submit the 5 pernicious P's of Pride:<br /><br />Procrastination<br />Perverseness<br />Prominence <br />Power <br />Pleasure<br /><br />These species of pride are born of the Natural Man, who as King Benjamin rightly taught, “is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. –Mosiah 3:19<br /><br />When we finally surrender our pride, and come forward with a broken heart and real intent, returning to Father, He will joyfully receive us still. <br /><br />Weakness is nothing, for all are weak. It is a gift, given to break your heart. Your broken heart will qualify you for His company. He can heal it all. But what He cannot do, and you must alone bring to Him, is that honest broken heart, required for salvation.<br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16879515381482039009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-38490463052499013162016-04-13T11:20:45.065-07:002016-04-13T11:20:45.065-07:00There are obstacles to the pure heart.
We might t...There are obstacles to the pure heart.<br /><br />We might think of our adversary Satan when spiritual obstacles are mentioned, but Satan is not our main enemy. Oh he is an enemy, that’s true. He’s certainly not interested in our turning to good at all, but he’s not our real problem. The real problem is simply our self. If we can overcome ourselves, Satan offers no further barrier to us. The real problem is just our own heart. The evil desires within our own heart are the enemy we each have to conquer. Thus, it doesn’t matter what circumstances we’re born into, the human problem is all the same. The problem is, can you work out a new heart, Can you become so pure that you have no ill will toward any human being, in other words, will you love your neighbor as yourself? <br /> <br />But there are some things that get in our way; pride, for instance. Pride sums up all the problems. Pride says, I will do it my way. Pride says, I don’t need to be told what to do. I don’t need help. I don’t need to make promises. Pride is self-sufficiency. Pride is saying, I’m good enough as I am. I will find my own way home.<br /><br />Pride is enmity toward God and toward our fellowmen. The word enmity is interesting, it comes from the same Latin root as enemy. An enemy is one whom we don’t love. Enmity toward God is simply not loving him. If we love him, then we search him out, search out his commandments and keep the commandments. That’s how we show our love for God. <br /><br />Pride is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us. Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16879515381482039009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-4458947874863979712016-04-13T09:28:58.970-07:002016-04-13T09:28:58.970-07:00Rock,
The true church of Christ is, in fact, invi...<br />Rock,<br /><br />The true church of Christ is, in fact, invisible in the sense that it cannot be known by the sight of one's eyes, nor the hearing of one's ears. The true church of Christ is, as you note, comprised of those who repent and come unto Christ, and none else; those who claim otherwise are not members of the true church of Christ, and by that key imposters and hypocrites may be discerned. Yet if they don't fall afoul of that key, who, by observation, can know whether any particular individual has repented and come unto Christ?<br /><br /><i>Helaman 3<br />33 And in the fifty and first year of the reign of the judges there was peace also, save it were the pride which began to enter into the church--not into the church of God, but into the hearts of the people who professed to belong to the church of God--<br /><br />34 And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction.</i>Jared Liveseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10309044282039536254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-84838182520382082862016-04-13T09:28:02.735-07:002016-04-13T09:28:02.735-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jared Liveseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10309044282039536254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-15033125360509265072016-04-13T08:05:26.013-07:002016-04-13T08:05:26.013-07:00How do we know when our hearts are pure?
The mark...How do we know when our hearts are pure?<br /><br />The mark of one who is pure in heart is that they are easy to be entreated and to be persuaded by our Savior or his servants. And they are without guile. Their conscience is strong, their ear is attuned to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. Anything of Christ which they encounter is beautiful to them. Thus, every human being, is beautiful to them. As is every truth, every piece of true wisdom, every noble life striving. They are entreated by the Holy Spirit to lay hold of every good thing in and through Christ.<br /><br />The question in this life is not, “Are you forgiven of your sins?” because everybody in every kingdom of glory will be forgiven of sins. The question is, “How much can you be trusted?” Your heart needs to be full of love for the Father and the Son and for all other beings, so much so that you can be trusted to do the right thing in any circumstance in which you’ll be found. That is the goal. What kind of assignments could you receive and carry through in the way that the Savior would? That is the true measure of our being. And so as we focus on obtaining the character of Christ, that is the straight and narrow way. To step by step replace the evil in ourselves with good, until we have come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.<br /><br />The thing that is absolutely necessary in this life is to gain the pure heart. The scriptural name for the pure heart is charity. And if we have charity, then we are possessors of all things. If we don’t have charity, we are still nothing. The scriptures are very plain about that. Until we get the gift of charity, we simply can’t be trusted.<br /><br />The purpose of all those things is that in the process, we might build for ourselves a new character, a new personality, a new person, a new being in the image of Christ.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16879515381482039009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-51560791098730185932016-04-13T07:57:00.406-07:002016-04-13T07:57:00.406-07:00Rico, Per your response to me April 11 at 7:20:
O...Rico, Per your response to me April 11 at 7:20:<br /><br />Of course the church is not invisible. It was indeed an observable religious society made up of live human beings. The difference is it was not organized in the way you maintain it was, and upon which your argument relies: that the Church was intended to have a hierarchical structure with certain persons in charge to interpret the doctrines and supervise the ordinances.<br /><br />The Church of Christ is best described by Christ Himself in D&C 10:67. What it has become, and what you rightly denounce, is described in the verse immediately following. Those who advocate for and participate in THAT artificiality are denounced as "not of me, and not of my church."<br /><br />The church of Christ, as it existed in the Kirtland/Missouri/Nauvoo period, was an egalitarian religious society, as far removed from its roots today as the Catholic church is removed from the simple gathering together of believers in Christ.<br /><br />You cite Mormon rituals as further evidence that the church requires a hierarchical structure in order for those rituals to obtain. But can rituals not be performed without a top-down organization to supervise and approve them? The Lord instructs us in 3rd Nephi as to how the sacrament is to be administered, yet I see no call in those instructions for administrators to be present. No different for baptism. The fact that the hierarchy has insisted they are the only ones authorized to control what goes on in Christ's church does not make that structure the authorized manner.<br /><br />You are mistaken when you say that Joseph Smith claimed the church would roll forth until it filled all the earth; but that mistake is one plenty of modern latter-day Saints themselves continue to make. What Joseph wrote was that it was TRUTH that would roll forth. He said nothing about the earth filling up with members of a particular religious denomination. If any "Church" fits the description you infer, it's your own Catholic Church, which did indeed roll forth and dominate much of the earth. But the medieval Catholic Church was known for leaving death and destruction in its wake rather than truth.<br /><br />So I'm with you when you rail against the LDS Church as presently constituted. But where you and I differ is your assertion that Joseph Smith organized the church that way, or that he is in any way responsible for creating the runaway corporate behemoth we have today.Alan Rock Watermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04971243364867111868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-32289549030493512752016-04-12T22:32:22.632-07:002016-04-12T22:32:22.632-07:00CAN THE BLIND LEAD THE BLIND?
This discussion abo...CAN THE BLIND LEAD THE BLIND?<br /><br />This discussion about commandments is getting silly by the hour because truth is mixed with false opinions. Nothing can be more false than this statement:<br /><br />"Therefore, the Law of Moses is a red herring..."<br />(Log's comment on April 11, 2016 at 7:24 PM)<br /><br />This is what one gets by continuously swallowing false doctrines. What goes in eventually comes out. What did the Apostle Paul teach about the function of the Law of Moses?<br /><br />"Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator... the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." (Galatians 3:19,24)<br /><br />From a true apostle like Paul, the Law of Moses is (1) ordained by angels and a (2) a schoolmaster that leads us to Christ. But from a self-appointed false teacher who follows the teachings of self-appointed prophets, the Law is a "red herring", something that really smells awful, and useful for misleading followers astray. That is the difference between apostolic teaching and the teaching of those who pervert the gospel message.<br /><br />How is it possible, we should ask ourselves, that the Law given by God himself, ordained by angels, whose function is to tutor us to Christ, be characterized so badly? Where does these evil come from?<br /><br />"For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life" (Proverbs 6:23)<br /><br />"The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes." (Psalms 19:18)<br /><br />"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." (Psalms 119:105)<br /><br />"The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." (Psalms 119:130)<br /><br />Since the time of Moses until the era of Paul, those who truly love God do not disparage his law and commandments. Jesus himself did not tell his followers that the Law is so awful. But those who do not love God, always see something wrong with his words. Instead of God correcting them, they correct God. Instead of being subject to God's words, they want God to be subject to their silly opinions. <br /><br />The world has never had a shortage of rebellious lunatics. And those who agree with them, deserve them.<br />Ricohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04496351045031931881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-8101679975364776432016-04-12T09:30:39.965-07:002016-04-12T09:30:39.965-07:00I agree with Log:
D&C 59:5 "Thou shalt l...I agree with Log:<br /><br />D&C 59:5 "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ shalt thou serve him.” <br /><br />Why are we commanded to love God? -God is loved and worshipped because of his righteousness and the worshipper counts himself as nothing without God.<br />In the Royal Law, God showers spiritual and temporal blessings upon all those who love his name and diligently keep his commandments. To be saved is to learn to love as God loves.<br /><br />In the Royal Law one loves ones neighbor as Christ loves him. He goes to the Father and seeks direction, first on how to love himself and secondly to know how, when and where he should share what the Father has given him to help to relieve his neighbor’s misery and is willing to share and give all that he has. <br /><br />Love of the Lord must precede love of neighbor because no man of his own wisdom knows how to do what is best for his himself, let alone his neighbor. When a person loves the Lord as the fountain of all righteousness, that fountain flows unto him as living water. <br /><br />The purpose of the Royal Law is identical to the work and glory of God, which is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Men on earth become participators with God in his grand designs, as they love their neighbors in a world full of misery. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16879515381482039009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-61513349115636563672016-04-12T09:22:48.671-07:002016-04-12T09:22:48.671-07:00We go through our lives, idea by idea, deed by dee...We go through our lives, idea by idea, deed by deed, habit by habit and we reject the evil. Which is to say, we repent of the evil things we have done and the evil things that we are, and replace them with good, line upon line, precept upon precept, idea upon idea, feeling upon feeling, habit upon habit becoming more and more like Christ, culminating finally in the full character of the Savior. <br /><br />And so Moroni 10:32 says: “Yea, come unto Christ and be perfected in Him, deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and if you deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind, and strength, then is His grace sufficient for you. That by His grace, ye may be perfect in Christ. And if by the grace of God you are perfect in Christ, you can in nowise deny the power of God.”<br /><br />So the goal is to become as the Savior, which means to become absolutely pure in heart, to be entirely enlightened in our minds, which is to have a fullness of truth even as He does, and eventually to gain all power in heaven and earth, which is to be almighty, even as He is. <br /><br />This is a specific sequence: heart, mind, strength, and might and that’s the order in which we must be saved. We don’t begin with might, though that is where a lot of people would like to begin. They want to be almighty to start with and believe that the rest of the things will work out. Of course, that would make monsters out of us. So, Father starts at the other end and has prescribed that the first thing, the most fundamental thing we must do is become pure in heart. Our heart is our desires, and when our desires are pure, then we can be trusted with anything and everything. <br /><br />But how does one become pure in heart? That kind of a heart is a gift from God. He will give it to all who seek it according to his instructions. What we must first have is an honest heart, a heart that admits that it is not pure. An honest heart will acknowledge the whisperings of the Holy Spirit and will come down in the depths of humility when it encounters Christ and His Holy Spirit.<br /><br />The honest heart will enter in at the Gate and follow the straight and narrow path to the end, as Jesus did. After the honest heart has done all that it can do, our Savior does the rest and gives the person a new heart. Then they can no longer look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. Their being has been changed, they are new creatures in Christ, heirs of all that he has and is. They will be exalted eventually. And meanwhile, they will learn enough, and be able to do enough, to live in Zion.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16879515381482039009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-65003325343272996692016-04-11T23:42:00.885-07:002016-04-11T23:42:00.885-07:00DeeLyn,
If God gave you just ONE commandment to o...DeeLyn,<br /><br />If God gave you just ONE commandment to obey, and just only one, would you obey it? <br /><br />Seriously, would you?Ricohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04496351045031931881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-59881358356016072242016-04-11T22:57:50.102-07:002016-04-11T22:57:50.102-07:00As I said, I've answered you, Gregory. Jesus ...As I said, I've answered you, Gregory. Jesus made no mistake; those who appeal to the so-called "Two Great Commandments" are seeking to excuse themselves from the specific, actionable instructions Jesus gave, which detail what exactly it means to "love thy neighbor as thyself."<br /><br />I'm thinking this is because the excuser is both married to mammon, and hasn't really got any love for his fellow man, yet wishes to be seen as a "good" person, whatever that means.<br /><br />That's how religions are born, after all. Visible, institutional, hierarchical Churches.Jared Liveseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10309044282039536254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-51265867939532548972016-04-11T22:21:15.115-07:002016-04-11T22:21:15.115-07:00RIco, I love your additions. nice work.RIco, I love your additions. nice work.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423919174137826379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-37610636187153756062016-04-11T22:20:29.839-07:002016-04-11T22:20:29.839-07:00I feel Adam was likely 100% committed to the comma...I feel Adam was likely 100% committed to the commandments. But with his brain, and with the help of his smart wife, Eve, he finally realized that obedience is not what God is after. He knows that God wants us to figure crap out, taking risks in context, after doing your best to make a decision and then weigh what the repercussions to that decision are and if its worth it? That's the point of teaching in parables. And that's why he didn't give many commandments during his brief life on earth. The other method he used to teach was by example. Christ broke laws right and left...in order to do good and to please his father. That's the beauty of the "Good Samaritan" The Samaritan was praised for NOT keeping the law. How do you interpret 3rd Nephi in the entire context of Christ's life and teachings. All of them. <br /><br />Few last thoughts, what is the atonement for? What is grace? Why are they needed if we have the commandments and we can absolutely keep them all? Did Christ make a mistake in Matthew 22 when he subjugated all the laws and prophets under the requirement to love each other? Or is the Bible in error?<br /><br />I'm making peace with my God. I would hope all of us are so doing. <br /><br />Peace!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423919174137826379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-84811666254642432322016-04-11T21:39:32.182-07:002016-04-11T21:39:32.182-07:00Gregory,
When it comes to the Orthodox churches, ...Gregory,<br /><br />When it comes to the Orthodox churches, our differences are not heavily theological. It's more a combination of cultural and political. The Greeks have always been suspicious of the Romans. But when the Muslims began waging wars across the Eastern Christian lands of Jerusalem, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, etc. the Roman Pope called for the Crusades to repel Islamic jihad. Few people today know that these were formerly Christian lands, not Muslim because modern Western propaganda has always been anti-Catholic (thank you, Protestants). Now that the West has forgotten its Christian roots and become atheist/ pagan, it is from the East that we see some hope for deliverance. Secular thinking is no match for Islamic jihad. That is why the US-NATO cannot defeat Islam. On the other hand, Orthodox Russia just bombed the hell out of Islamic terrorists, helping the Syrians liberate Palmyra, a strategic city in Syria since ancient times. Russia and Syria accomplished in 6 months what the US-NATO could not do in 5 years. Did the US, UK, France, and other Western nations, the bastion of Protestants and atheists, congratulate Russia and Syria for their heroic efforts? Not a pip or squeak. Instead of gratitude, these "white anglo saxon Protestant atheist pagans" (waspag) continue to demonize Russia.<br /><br />Anyway, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kyrill of the Russian Orthodox Church met this year in Cuba to address the genocide conducted by Islam against the ancient Christian churches in Iraq, Turkey, Syria, etc. Hopefully, this will pave the way for that long awaited reunion of the two great Churches. I wish I will still be alive to see the day...Ricohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04496351045031931881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-83101740588736363752016-04-11T19:38:11.752-07:002016-04-11T19:38:11.752-07:00"Behold, I have given unto you the commandmen..."Behold, I have given unto you the commandments, therefore keep my commandments. And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly testified of me."Jared Liveseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10309044282039536254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342380624800894371.post-12335921239889820832016-04-11T19:24:48.244-07:002016-04-11T19:24:48.244-07:00Two more connectors.
3 Nephi 15
z 1 And now it ca...Two more connectors.<br /><br /><i>3 Nephi 15<br />z 1 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and said unto them: Behold, ye have heard the things which I taught before I ascended to my Father; therefore, whoso remembereth these sayings of mine and doeth them, him will I raise up at the last day.<br /><br /> 2 And it came to pass that when Jesus had said these words he perceived that there were some among them who marveled, and wondered what he would concerning the law of Moses; for they understood not the saying that old things had passed away, and that all things had become new.<br /><br /> 3 And he said unto them: Marvel not that I said unto you that old things had passed away, and that all things had become new.<br /><br /> 4 Behold, I say unto you that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses.<br /><br /> 5 Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end.<br /><br /> 6 Behold, I do not destroy the prophets, for as many as have not been fulfilled in me, verily I say unto you, shall all be fulfilled.<br /><br /> 7 And because I said unto you that old things have passed away, I do not destroy that which hath been spoken concerning things which are to come.<br /><br /> 8 For behold, the covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled; but the law which was given unto Moses hath an end in me.<br /><br /> 9 Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.<br /><br /> 10 Behold, I have given unto you the commandments; therefore keep my commandments. And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly testified of me.</i><br /><br />Therefore, the Law of Moses is a red herring, and...<br /><br /><i>Romans 13:10<br />10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.</i><br /><br />If therefore it is impossible to keep all the commandments of God, then it is impossible to fulfill the law - which is the commandments - therefore it is impossible to love one's neighbor.<br /><br />Thus, the claim that it is impossible to keep all the commandments denies both of the so-called "Two Great Commandments."Jared Liveseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10309044282039536254noreply@blogger.com